Boeuf Bourguignon

I found this recipe on recipezaar.com. I have been wanting to make this for a while, and I got a really nice 6 Qt cast iron enameled pot for Mommy's Day, so I finally was able to make it! I served it over homemade egg noodles and it serves 6.

For the Stew

• 6 ounces bacon, solid chunk
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 lbs lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
• 1 carrot, peeled and sliced
• 1 onion, peeled and sliced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper, freshly ground
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 cups red wine (a full bodied wine like Bordeaux or Burgundy or Chianti)
• 2-3 cups beef stock
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 garlic cloves, mashed (you may choose to add more)
• 1 sprig thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
• 1 bay leaf, preferably fresh

For the braised onions

• 18-24 white pearl onions, peeled
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup beef stock
• salt & fresh ground pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig thyme
• 2 sprigs parsley

For the Sauteed Mushrooms

• 1 lb mushroom, quartered
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Steps

1. First prepare the bacon: cut off the rind and reserve.
2. Cut the bacon into lardons about 1/4" think and 1 1/2" long.
3. Simmer the rind and the lardons for ten minutes in 1 1/2 quarts of water.
4. Drain and dry the lardons and rind and reserve.
5. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
6. Put the tablespoon of olive oil in a large (9" - 10" wide, 3" deep) fireproof casserole and warm over moderate heat.
7. Saute the lardons for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly.
8. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon.
9. Dry off the pieces of beef and saute them, a few at a time in the hot oil/bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides.
10. Once browned, remove to the side plate with the bacon.
11. In the same oil/fat, saute the onion and the carrot until softened.
12. Pour off the fat and return the lardons and the beef to the casserole with the carrots and onion.
13. Toss the contents of the casserole with the salt and pepper and sprinkle with the flour.
14. Set the uncovered casserole in the oven for four minutes.
15. Toss the contents of the casserole again and return to the hot oven for 4 more minutes.
16. Now, lower the heat to 325°F and remove the casserole from the oven.
17. Add the wine and enough stock so that the meat is barely covered.
18. Add the tomato paste, garlic and herbs and the bacon rind.
19. Bring to a simmer on the top of the stove.
20. Cover and place in the oven, adjusting the heat so that the liquid simmers very slowly for three to four hours.
21. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.
22. While the meat is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms and set them aside till needed.
23. For the onion, if using frozen, make sure they are defrosted and drained.
24. Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet and add the onions to the skillet.
25. Saute over medium heat for about ten minutes, rolling the onions about so they brown as evenly as possible, without breaking apart.
26. Pour in the stock, season to taste, add the herbs, and cover.
27. Simmer over low heat for about 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but retain their shape and the liquid has mostly evaporated.
28. Remove the herbs and set the onions aside.
29. For the mushrooms, heat the butter and oil over high heat in a large skillet.
30. As soon as the foam begins to subside add the mushrooms and toss and shake the pan for about five minutes.
31. As soon as they have browned lightly, remove from heat.
32. To Finish the Stew:.
33. When the meat is tender, remover the casserole from the oven and empty its contents into a sieve set over a saucepan.
34. Wash out the casserole and return the beef and bacon to it (discarding the bits of carrot and onion and herbs which remain in the sieve).
35. Distribute the mushrooms and onions over the meat.
36. Skim the fat off the sauce and simmer it for a minute or two, skimming off any additional fat which rises to the surface.
37. You should be left with about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly.
38. If the sauce is too thick, add a few tablespoons of stock.
39. If the sauce is too thin, boil it down to reduce to the right consistency.
40. Taste for seasoning.
41. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables.
42. If you are serving immediately, place the covered casserole over medium low heat and simmer 2 to 3 minutes.
43. Serve in the casserole or on a warm platter surrounded by noodles, potatoes or rice and garnished with fresh parsley.
44. If serving later or the next day, allow the casserole to cool and place cold, covered casserole in the refrigerator.
45. 20 minutes prior to serving, place over medium low heat and simmer very slowly for ten minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.

This was a time intensive dish, but well worth it! Thank you, Julia Child!

Creamy Tuscan Tomato Soup

Ingredients:
2-3 Tlb Olive Oil
2 Lg Onions, diced
5 C Tomatoes, diced & seeded
2 C Chicken Stock
1 1/2 C Whipping Cream
1 C Fresh Pesto*
Salt & Pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large soup pot and add onions. Sweat the onions then add the tomatoes and warm to a simmer. Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer and allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Take off heat and add cream and pesto. Using a hand immersion blender blend until desired consistency. If you do not have a hand immersion blender then you can use your blender in batches.

Fresh Pesto:
3 C loosely packed basil leaves
1/2 C olive oil
1/4 C pine nuts
2 cloves of garlic
1/3 C Parmesan cheese
2 Tlb Romano Cheese
salt to taste


I got this recipe from my mother-in-law that got it off some morning news show. I wish I could say which one and what day, but I have no clue. Sorry

Fresh Asparagus and Pea Soup

Over Thanksgiving, my awesome sister-in-law, Amber, introduced me to Ina Garten's fresh pea soup recipe. I loved it! In fact, I wanted to make it today. I was so perplexed because I also wanted Emeril Lagasse's asparagus soup recipe. It then hit me...COMBINE and alter the two existing recipes, and change some things. My recipe is AWESOME!. Seriously, you should try this and let me know what you think!

Ingredients and tools:
2 (14 oz) cans/boxes of chicken stock
1 bundle of asparagus
1 (16 oz bag) of frozen petite peas
1 medium red onion, diced
2 tablespoons of olive oil
sour cream for garnish/to taste
cilantro for garnish/ to taste

hand-immersion blender is best, but if you don't have one, your food processor, if you don't have one, your blender. The blender will work, but the consistency will be not perfect.
slotted spoon

Directions:
In a medium stock pot, add the chicken stock and bring to boil. Get the asparagus, snap off the tuff ends and discard, cut the asparagus into 1.5 inches long and separate the spears from the stocks. Add the stocks into the boiling chicken stock and reduce heat and simmer 20-30 minutes. While the asparagus and stock is simmering, get the red onion, dice and sweat the onions in a pan with the olive oil. Go back to the stock: take the slotted spoon and retrieve the asparagus stems from the asparagus infused broth. Add the onion to the broth, bring to boil. Then add the asparagus spears and reduce heat to a more gentle boil. 5 minutes from being tender add the frozen peas and increase heat to bring back to boil. The peas should only take 3-5 minutes. Get the cilantro and and sour cream from the fridge. Once the peas are tender and floating, puree until the desired consistency. Put in dish, serve with the garnishes. YUMMY!!!! It seriously is so scrumptious good and super easy to make!!! I love the combination of these flavors! hmmm yum! Next time I make this I may retain the stems and blend them in with the rest so the asparagus flavor would be more pronounced....


Honestly, I did change quite a bit of the recipes; if you are curious of the two original recipes click here for Ina Garten, and here for Emeril Lagasse.

Baked Jalepeno Poppers

Ingredients:

• 12 fresh jalepeno peppers, halved lengthwise, stems, seeds, and membranes removed
• 6 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 ½ cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
• ½ teaspoon ground paprika
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons of milk
• 2 cups panko crumbs (or fine dry breadcrumbs)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. Lightly grease baking sheet and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, cumin, garlic, and paprika.
3. In a small bowl, beat the eggs and milk together.
4. In separate shallow dishes, pour the panko in one and the flour in the other and set aside.
5. Fill each pepper up to the top with cheese mixture. (In large jalapeno peppers it could be a tablespoon.)Now you are ready for the breading “assembling line.” Remember to do one at a time and keep one hand as your “wet” hand and one hand as your “dry” hand!
6. First you dredge it in flour
7. Second you submerge it in milk/egg mixture
8. Finally you dredge it in panko, pressing it in to coat it well. (You may need to repeat the process.)
9. Place directly on baking sheet, cut side up, and bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is runny. (about 30 minutes)

* I had a ton of jalapeño peppers from my garden and wanted some poppers, but did not want the fat from deep frying them. So I came across some on the web and changed the recipe to this. I made them today for a little potluck and they were devoured! Ohh this was tasty! If you try it, let me know what you think! Next time I think I will add more spice, but I didn't want to be too daring on the first attempt. :)

Fried Bananas

I wouldn't really call them fried bananas if it were me, but that is what it was/is called I guess....

This is a super simple recipe that has so many uses! All you need to have on hand is a banana, some sugar, a smidgen of butter, and a squirt of whipped cream (if desired).

Pre-heat the skillet and add about a tablespoon of butter. Cut up the banana to desired thickness and dredge in sugar. Place bananas in skillet until the sugar carmelizes, then  flip to the other side. Take out and enjoy hot! YUMMMMMM! Squirt some whipped cream if desired.

These bananas are great to add to buttermilk biscuits, crepes, creme brulee, pancakes, waffles, etc.

Chicken Cacciatore

I made this for dinner the other day and it was amazing. I found a similar recipe off the Food Network website, but didn't have all the ingredients on hand so I altered it to the following recipe and it turned out PERFECT!

Ingredients

8 Chicken Tenders, about 2 pounds
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 tsp Olive Oil
1 Medium Onion, thin sliced
1 bell pepper, thin sliced (any color)
1/2 pound- 1 pound of white button mushrooms (depending on how many mushrooms you like
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14.5 oz) can of diced tomatoes in juice
1 tsp of Italian Seasoning
1/8 tsp of red pepper flakes
2-3 tsp fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped

Directions:

**Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Season with sea salt and pepper. Make sure the chicken is room temperature before you start to cook.  Heat the oil in a saute pan over med high heat. Sear the chicken on both sides and then remove the chicken and set aside. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion and pepper until  the onions sweat. Add mushrooms and stir occasionally. Once the mushrooms start to brown add the garlic and cook until the garlic becomes fragrant. Add the whole can of tomatoes (juice and all), Italian Seasoning, and red pepper flakes and a little more sea salt. Add the chicken breasts back in and simmer until the chicken is cooked all the way through--about 10 minutes. Just before serving stir in the Italian parsley and let slightly wilt. Serve over some orzo or a bow tie pasta. We ate it just as is and it was great!

** I brined the chicken tenders for about 20 minutes before I started the cooking process while I was deciding what to make. It was a simple brine mix of kosher salt and water.

Bay and Lemon Brined Turkey

I got this recipe off of  the Food Network's website and the recipe is courtesy of Dave Lieberman. I made this for Thanksgiving a few years ago and it was a BIG hit! I honestly did not think I liked turkey up until this dish. It was always, in my opinion, dry--no matter who was the cook. I gave up trying to like this bird until this recipe came into my life. Thank you DAVE LIEBERMAN for introducing me to the wonderful world of brining poultry!

Ingredients: 

1 (12 to 15 pound) Turkey

For the Brine:

2 Gallons of water
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Kosher Salt
2 Lemons, sliced in 1/2
4 Bay Leaves
3 Cinnamon Sticks
Small handful of cloves

Instructions:

Combine all brine ingredients in a big stock pot large enough to hold the turkey. Make sure all the sugar and salt have been dissolved. Add the turkey and refrigerate at least 6 hrs (or overnight).

Preheat the oven to 350* F

Remove turkey from brine and transfer to a roasting pan with a rack. Stuff turkey with the lemon halves, bay leaves, and cinnamon sticks used in the brine. Cook the turkey for about 3 1/2 hours, basting every 40 minutes or so. If any part of the turkey gets too brown towards the end of cooking, shield with pieces of tin foil. When the turkey is done, juices should run clear from the breast and the legs should pull away from the bird easily. Remove from heat and let rest for 15-20 minutes before carving! Enjoy!!!

Bacon & Brussels Sprouts

Poor Brussels sprouts... they get such a bad rap and they are truly tasty! I found this recipe on Foodnetwork.com, feel free to click here to be redirected to the original recipe link. I have altered the recipe ever so slightly so here it is... It seems bacon fat makes many foods edible to many!

1 pound of thick bacon
1 medium onion, thin slice
8 garlic cloves, halved lengthwise
2 pounds of Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
sea salt or kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

In a large, deep skillet, cook bacon med -high heat until browned. Transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain. Add onion and garlic to the pan, reduce heat to moderate heat  until softened (3-4 minutes) Remove the veggies from the pan and set aside. Add the Brussels sprouts in batches and continue to cook until they are golden brown. Add the reserved bacon and veggies back along with the salt and pepper. Cover with lid and cook until sprouts are tender, about 10 minutes.

Garlic Rosemary Pork Tenderloin

My wonderful step mom gave me this recipe a few years back and I LOVE IT!

2 each 2-3 pounds of Pork Tenderloin, Trimmed
3/4 cup mild Olive Oil
1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar*
2 Tbsp fresh chopped Rosemary
1 Tbsp Kosher Salt
1 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced

* I have substituted with white wine vinegar and it turned out great!


Assemble Marinade. Place trimmed pork tenderloins in a gallon zip-lock bag. Pour marinade over the pork and seal. Place in refrigerator for 1-2 hrs.  About 30 minutes before you are ready to preheat the oven, take the pork out of the refrigerator to get to room temperature. Preheat the oven to about 400* F. (Grilling is another wonderful option) Place the probe of the meat thermometer in the thickest section of the meat. Cook the meat until the internal temperature reaches 160* F (Medium) or 170 *F (well done). Note: the meat will continue to increase in temperature a few degrees while it is resting so if you want the meat a true medium take out a couple degrees before 160*F. Let the meat rest for about 15 minutes before cutting. 



Sweet Chili Glaze

2 tsp Olive Oil
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp toasted ground cumin
1/4 Cup of frozen pineapple juice concentrate, thawed*

In a small plan heat oil, chili powder and cumin over medium heat. When the mixture starts to sizzle and spices become fragrant, add the juice concentrate. Reduce heat and simmer until the mixture reduces to about 2 tablespoons. Allow to cool slightly and pour over the tenderloin!!! :)


* I have substituted orange juice concentrate and it is delicious!

Roasted Asparagus

I found this recipe in Cooking Light Magazine online about 8 years ago--but the recipe said to put them on the grill--which is good too.

1 pound of Asparagus, ends snapped off
3 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp low-sodium Soy Sauce
1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Put all the ingredients together in a zip lock bag, seal and marinate for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400* F Place asparagus on baking sheet and discard marinade. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until your preference is achieved.

* You can also broil or grill them for about 10 minutes (5 min on each side)

Pan Fried Chicken

So here's my attempt at pan frying chicken.... It was so tasty and amazing! I am so glad I went to that free cooking class at Williams-Sonoma because it taught me how to keep the silly breading ON the bird for once!!!

I first brined the chicken for 30 minutes, dredged in seasoned flour, egg mixture, and seasoned flour again and pan fried these amazing pieces of chicken! It turned out so tasty I will definitely do more of this type of cooking!!!!

Tips: have your meat at room temperature and pat DRY before you start dredging! Have the oil at the appropriate temperature and don't overcrowd the pan!